Prospective analysis of renal function and somatic growth in neonatal posterior urethral valves

The present prospective study focuses on the effect of transurethral fulguration (TUF) and vesicostomy on the renal functions and somatic growth in posterior urethral valves (PUV).

37 consecutive neonates were diagnosed and treated for PUV with vesicostomy (18 patients) and TUF (19 patients). Postoperative stable creatinine values, renal function and somatic growth were recorded. Standard anthropometric techniques and standard statistical methods were used to compute distance statistics for body weight and crown-heel length at age intervals of 3 months for the first year.

The distance values of body weight and crown-heel length of these groups of children were less than the 5th percentile of the National Centre For Health Statistics (NCHS) and healthy Punjabi infants showing growth retardation in the first year of life. Pre- and postoperative mean serum creatinine of the fulguration group was 1.5 +/- 1.5 mg/dl and 0.8 +/- 0.3 mg/dl and for vesicostomy it was 2.4 +/- 2.2 mg/dl, and 0.9 +/- 0.7 mg/dl respectively. The babies of the fulguration group showed better growth attainments than the babies of the vesicostomy group at the end of one year.

At the end of one year, babies of the fulguration group had a similar growth velocity compared to the vesicostomy group, though in general they showed retarded growth compared to healthy counterparts. The modality of treatment chosen did not seem to affect the renal functions or somatic growth in the short-term follow-up.